Brand Pokes Fun at Itself While Promoting Non-Ubiquitous Service

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Denny's delivers, but not everywhere. Rather than hiding from that fact, it's acknowledging it in a new video featuring Edwin McCain, singer of the popular '90s tune "I'll Be."

The diner chain's "You Inspired Us" video highlights some of the tweets (and even a MySpace message) Denny's has seen over the years from fans craving delivery.

Denny's launched "Denny's on Demand," a way to order online for takeout and delivery, back in May. More than 800,000 orders have been placed since then, it says. Those orders are part of the reason Denny's same-store sales rose 1.1 percent in 2017, according to the preliminary results the company released Jan. 8. That's up from a 0.9 percent increase in 2016.

But Denny's craves more awareness and usage of the service.

While delivery has been around for months, it's available from over 40 percent of the chain's locations, but not yet nationwide. As Denny's admits in the video, it only delivers in select areas. "And by select we mean 'not everywhere yet,'" reads wording on the lower part of the screen as McCain plays guitar and sings his Denny's delivery ballad.

The song clearly resembles McCain's sounds from the late 1990s, even if he looks a lot different (cue an old photo of McCain as he rhymes "where" and "hair").

Some of the lines in the roughly three-minute song are based on actual tweets. And anyone who spots his or her tweet that appear on the campaign site can claim a free Denny's gift card by clicking "Claim Your Tweet." (Or, they can simply search their username on the site.)

McCain is from Greenville, S.C., not too far from Denny's headquarters in Spartanburg, S.C. The work comes from Denny's creative agency EP+Co, which also happens to be based in Greenville.

Denny's says it is giving away one of its most popular Denny's on Demand items to thank new and returning users. First, patrons need to create accounts and place an order through Denny's on Demand. Then they'll get a free Build Your Own Grand Slam for their next order, through Jan. 31.

The campaign also includes a TV spot, along with other online and in-store elements.